Hit in the morning against the same guy as yesterday, on slow wet har-tru in chilly conditions. After trimming off a touch of lead played a bit more varied style, but still more attacking than usual. Hit for about 30 min, then played points for about 45 min. Served amazingly for the first 20 or so mins of point play, and then the magic wore off and I was back to normal (not bad by any means though). I was really happy with how this spec played.

Then in the afternoon I played with a 5.0(+?) girl on a quick warm indoor hard court. Spent a lot of the time inside the baseline, and hit a ton of volleys (the frame just continues to impress me at net).

Lastly hit with a 4.0 buddy outdoors in the chilly fading daylight for about 45 mins until it got too dark. Just feeling out the frame, working on half volleys, touch (don't laugh) and control.

I am liking the frame more every time I hit it, but I still can't make the ball jump, kick, or knuckle like I can with the 90s. I either square it too much, or cut it too much.

I think it is just an angle of attack thing where I just need to find out what it takes to make this frame sing. I've played with the Wilsons since 2005, and the Head for 3 days, so I am sure there is a learning curve. My timing just isn't there with it yet, and I need to fool around a bit with how I hit the ball.

^Sounds good so far. I played with the PresMid for close to 4 years and now oddly enough, am messing around with the Ps90 and I agree, the variation available with the 90, in terms of spin, is 'head' and shoulders above the PresMid.

I've never served as mean as I am currently with the 90. Loopers that crush the court and bounce and swerve away on the T. Just with a bit of lead at the tip. Groundstrokes are completely different with the 9 though. Have to consciously put top on the ball so it doesn't fly. The PresMid, in comparison is kind-of 'under-powered', which makes it great for hitting flatter.

My wife currently plays with the PresMid and just puts massive amounts of top on the ball. She stays low through contact and really gets under the ball. Probably the only way to play this frame in the modern sense.

I'm all over the place with music, we've talked about this before. It's different for musicians. I'll get done listening to Gojira, then rock some Huey Lewis and the News, then off to Slayer, Prince, Whitney Houston and end the night with some Talking Heads, Cure and Allen Jackson.

Really digging these guys lately btw. Saw them last year live and they're still in my head. Constantly rocking their album. They remind of the old-school 80s doom rock bands. Good stuff.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaAb421KUhk

Wow someone dropped a gojira bomb? Amazing. I met those guys a few years back and we partied in an awkward "lets struggle through this language barrier using alcohol" kind of way. Quite simply one of the greatest live bands i have ever had the pleasure of watching.

As for the prestige mid, definitely a stick you can crush topspin with, but as stated you have to get under the ball and really be in the zone. Tightest pattern ever. I still say demo the new blade tour..i hated the k blade as well and i am loving the blx blade 98. The prestige does hit a wonderful line drive crushing topspin forehand, but i can hit the same ball with the blade and get a lot more spin when i want it as well.

Hey Jolly, just an off-the wall thought, but maybe you should re-consider the 6.1 95's with an 18x20 pattern?
I'm sure that with the 16x19 the ball would fly on you, but the larger head size spreads the strings out more than the 90s. It is a beast of a racket (at least the original and the K that I've hit with). It should give you a more spinny hard-hit ball than the Prestige Mid, yet still allow you to control the ball.
I would recommend the Prestige Pro, but once again, you'd have to string very tight to maintain control and it might eat strings.

It is very informative to hear about your mad experiments with the Prestige Mid.

Actually, I'm sure you would love my original Black Aces. The ones I have now are from the TW Bosworth stock (maybe intended for Steve Denton) and are 14oz stock, 86 sq in headsize 16main pattern. You can't have them though ------- Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.

^Sounds good so far. I played with the PresMid for close to 4 years and now oddly enough, am messing around with the Ps90 and I agree, the variation available with the 90, in terms of spin, is 'head' and shoulders above the PresMid.

I've never served as mean as I am currently with the 90. Loopers that crush the court and bounce and swerve away on the T. Just with a bit of lead at the tip. Groundstrokes are completely different with the 9 though. Have to consciously put top on the ball so it doesn't fly. The PresMid, in comparison is kind-of 'under-powered', which makes it great for hitting flatter.

My wife currently plays with the PresMid and just puts massive amounts of top on the ball. She stays low through contact and really gets under the ball. Probably the only way to play this frame in the modern sense.

I'm all over the place with music, we've talked about this before. It's different for musicians. I'll get done listening to Gojira, then rock some Huey Lewis and the News, then off to Slayer, Prince, Whitney Houston and end the night with some Talking Heads, Cure and Allen Jackson.

Really digging these guys lately btw. Saw them last year live and they're still in my head. Constantly rocking their album. They remind of the old-school 80s doom rock bands. Good stuff.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaAb421KUhk

Wow someone dropped a gojira bomb? Amazing. I met those guys a few years back and we partied in an awkward "lets struggle through this language barrier using alcohol" kind of way. Quite simply one of the greatest live bands i have ever had the pleasure of watching.

As for the prestige mid, definitely a stick you can crush topspin with, but as stated you have to get under the ball and really be in the zone. Tightest pattern ever. I still say demo the new blade tour..i hated the k blade as well and i am loving the blx blade 98. The prestige does hit a wonderful line drive crushing topspin forehand, but i can hit the same ball with the blade and get a lot more spin when i want it as well.

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I really don't like oval beam frames, and am just not sure I can trust any Wilsons not to cave.

I asked if there were any problems with the blade or 95 18X20 coming back, and was told that they really weren't selling. Everyone was buying Head or Babolat and that the only Wilson that was selling was the Steam.

Hey Jolly, just an off-the wall thought, but maybe you should re-consider the 6.1 95's with an 18x20 pattern?
I'm sure that with the 16x19 the ball would fly on you, but the larger head size spreads the strings out more than the 90s. It is a beast of a racket (at least the original and the K that I've hit with). It should give you a more spinny hard-hit ball than the Prestige Mid, yet still allow you to control the ball.
I would recommend the Prestige Pro, but once again, you'd have to string very tight to maintain control and it might eat strings.

It is very informative to hear about your mad experiments with the Prestige Mid.

Actually, I'm sure you would love my original Black Aces. The ones I have now are from the TW Bosworth stock (maybe intended for Steve Denton) and are 14oz stock, 86 sq in headsize 16main pattern. You can't have them though ------- Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.

Click to expand...

I've actually never had a problem with balls flying on me with any frame once I've put a few minutes in to figure it out.

I've certainly taken a swing with something and gone "Woah nelly!" but after a minute or two get my angle right and am on my merry way.

I can hit the ball wherever I want with most anything, my big concern is what the ball does when it gets there. I could hit cones with my ground strokes swinging a pure drive, but it was just a light spinny 'teaching pro' ball.

I've always been kind of mystified by the "I can't keep the ball in the court with this racquet because it is so powerful." posts here, and I just assume the posters who say such things aren't that good. I switched from Kevlar/ALU at 70# to BBO/ALU at 50#. It took me about 5 minutes to adjust my serve and topspin groundstrokes, and a week to adjust my return, slice, and volleys. Two weeks later I was totally comfortable with the new strings.

With the new frame I have about 1 1/2 hours of serious hitting and point play, and about 3 hours of lighter "feel it out" hitting, and I feel as if I am about half way to having this thing figured out.

About your black aces, I am sure I would love to hit with them, but not really sure they would be stiff enough for match play for me.

I said this in my original review of the YTPM, soft racquets feel great, are wonderful to volley, and hit lightly with but I love playing with very stiff frames.

These new prestiges (and I've no clue how they managed it) feel like a brick wall, with a thin layer of rubber padding on it. So if you hit softly, or volley lightly you have the nice soft feel of the rubber padding, but when you take a rip at the ball or have to volley a bullet the padding is used right up and the frame is rock solid behind the ball.

I laughed when Head said that it was a racquet that played soft when you hit soft, and played stiff when you hit hard, but I'll be darned if that isn't exactly what it does.

I really don't like oval beam frames, and am just not sure I can trust any Wilsons not to cave.

I asked if there were any problems with the blade or 95 18X20 coming back, and was told that they really weren't selling. Everyone was buying Head or Babolat and that the only Wilson that was selling was the Steam.

J

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I hear you. The Blades sell like hotcakes down here, but it may not be your thing. The prestige makes sense since you string tight and hit flatter. I can't jive with the head gripshape after being spoiled by Wilson's.

Sounds like you are settled in, but a wildcard could be the Prince Graphite 90.

And yeah, when you crack a ball with the Head Youteks, it is wild how the feel differs from a touch shot. If you really want to party, you should grab some prestige classic 600s. Incredible feel.

I hear you. The Blades sell like hotcakes down here, but it may not be your thing. The prestige makes sense since you string tight and hit flatter. I can't jive with the head gripshape after being spoiled by Wilson's.

Sounds like you are settled in, but a wildcard could be the Prince Graphite 90.

And yeah, when you crack a ball with the Head Youteks, it is wild how the feel differs from a touch shot. If you really want to party, you should grab some prestige classic 600s. Incredible feel.

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BBO loves to be strung loose. Going to 44 or 46 lbs on the next stringjob.

I've actually never had a problem with balls flying on me with any frame once I've put a few minutes in to figure it out.

I've certainly taken a swing with something and gone "Woah nelly!" but after a minute or two get my angle right and am on my merry way.

I can hit the ball wherever I want with most anything, my big concern is what the ball does when it gets there. I could hit cones with my ground strokes swinging a pure drive, but it was just a light spinny 'teaching pro' ball.

I've always been kind of mystified by the "I can't keep the ball in the court with this racquet because it is so powerful." posts here, and I just assume the posters who say such things aren't that good. I switched from Kevlar/ALU at 70# to BBO/ALU at 50#. It took me about 5 minutes to adjust my serve and topspin groundstrokes, and a week to adjust my return, slice, and volleys. Two weeks later I was totally comfortable with the new strings.

With the new frame I have about 1 1/2 hours of serious hitting and point play, and about 3 hours of lighter "feel it out" hitting, and I feel as if I am about half way to having this thing figured out.

About your black aces, I am sure I would love to hit with them, but not really sure they would be stiff enough for match play for me.

J

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You are right about the Black Aces being quite flexible. It is the weight that is in your (and my) sweetspot and using that weight give more power than any racket around these days without major mods. With the smaller head, you don't have to string extremely high (kevlar in 70s) to keep control.

Maybe I'm not good enough to control the ball with any racket, as you say. When I was good enough, I used a wood racket, so never had to adjust to such things.
I do like to hit flat, and you just can not hit extremely hard and flat with a larger headed racket with a springy stringbed. Even with my gut/poly stringjobs at pretty high tensions, when the poly loosens just a little it can trampoline and with two seemingly identical shots one will go in and one will hit the back fence. Certainly if you dial it back and spin the ball in it won't trampoline and you can keep the ball in the court consistently, but you aren't going to win matches. I don't really have problems with trampolining with kevlar or poly string setups.

I did try a kevlar/poly hybrid at one time in my Prestige Pros. I hit well with it and you can get excellent spin and also excellent control on flat balls - really nice for both. I did get just a bit of soreness in my arm, so I cut it out after a few hits to prevent damage since I'm playing with a torn elbow tendon and old tears in my rotator cuff as well as torn cartilage in my shouder.

Seems like the Prestige Mid is coming along and you have gone a few hours without breaking the strings. The tight string bed must be helping with that. If it keeps up, you might even try thinner polys to open the stringbed just a touch.

We will see, never played anyone in the tournament before which is a first since I usually know everyone.

Going to put the Prestige on the shelf for the weekend and use my 90s for tonight and Friday's practice and then use them for the tournament. Playing dubs tonight, then hitting with a very good player after, then Friday hitting with Mr. Pickle.

Other guy was quite good, and played really well, I was kind of out of it and played really tight. Could barely serve at all, and it was obvious that I hadn't played a singles match that mattered in a long time.

But I had fun, and am looking forward to the next one, and hopefully a bunch in '13. Just need some match play under my belt again, and to alter my mindset a bit.

Re: The prestige.

I gave it up for a week since I had the tournament and a bunch of friendly dubs matches, but hit with it again last night. It is still nice, and I am adjusting to it.

Waiting to get mine in 5/8 as there seems to be some sort of delay.

Also the buttcap, or pallet on the demo I've been using has loosened up and the thing now creaks like an old wooden sailboat. Much the same as my BLXPSs. So I am thinking it is likely buttcap.